What is war? In short, it's a group of
people using violence to subdue another group. War is a spectrum of
conflict involving thousands of elements. Shootings among local gangs is
at the low end of the warfare spectrum, yet these skirmishes kill
hundreds of
Americans each year. At the high end are nations planning to fight for
control of outer space. Death and destruction takes place throughout this spectrum.
For example, a man armed with a box cutter may take control of an airplane and
slam it into the Pentagon killing people planning nuclear war. The
mission of a modern military is to fight throughout this spectrum of conflict.

In recent years, there has been talk of a "Revolution in Military
Affairs." The basic idea is that
advances in technology have made the need for mass armies obsolete. Wars
can be fought by small numbers of well-trained professionals equipped with
high-tech devices and weaponry centrally coordinated with "netrocentric"
warfare. Others claim that we
have entered a "4th Generation" of warfare where wars between
"nation-states" will not occur; wars are now clashes between elite
warriors and groups of devious extremists who
manipulate the media to succeed. Some claim that "4th Generation"
warfare
was conceived by Mao Tse-Tung a few decades ago and has spread worldwide.

These arguments are faulty. Human history is filled with conflicts between
those who rule nations and people who reject their authority. All empires faced continual
unrest in which they fought opponents employing so-called "4th
Generation" tactics. The
numerous rebellions within the Roman empire are well documented.
Even the word "guerilla" is an old term for locals who fought
Napoleon's armies in Spain. Likewise, Britain was continually
suppressing rebellions throughout
its empire, including a notable revolution in its American colonies where it
faced "extremists" led by "terrorist mastermind" George Washington.

Conventional armies
have been engaged in "4th Generation" warfare throughout history.
The term terrorists was used to describe the Viet Cong, which was a substitute for
the older term of anarchist. Before that, the word assassin was used,
which arose from the Crusades to
describe fearless Arabs who committed suicidal attacks. In Russia
alone, five emperors were assassinated within less than 200 years. The most notable assassination victim
in US history was President Abraham Lincoln. Three other US Presidents have been assassinated:
James
Garfield, William
McKinley, and John
F. Kennedy. In Europe
the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand triggered World
War I.

The US military has always fought "terrorists" as the American empire expanded. The US Army has much
experience suppressing revolts in occupied areas, starting with the Indian
campaigns, then an expedition into Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa. The US Army fought rebels in the Philippines, Vietnam, and now Iraq. Generals
dislike warfare at the low end of the spectrum, but are happy to have any type of war to
fight. Unfortunately, they often fuel revolts by
reacting to minor violence with greater violence; Iraq provides a recent example.

The challenge of a modern military is to fight
throughout
the entire spectrum of conflict. Technology is helpful when combating insurgents,
but is never the solution to human conflict. The new idea of "netrocentric"
warfare is an ultra-expensive upgrade of the old Soviet idea of central planning
and control. While sharing information is a good idea, centralization
usually results in micromanagement by uninformed and inexperienced senior officers
at distant headquarters. Complex computerized command systems require tremendous
logistical support, may breakdown, may suffer damage from enemy attacks or
jamming, and may be exploited by the enemy.

The danger the US military faces today is the
resource drain caused by the occupation of Iraq. Future wars in the mid
and high spectrum of conflict are inevitable since American leaders
are enthralled with dominating the world militarily. Current levels of US military
spending are unsustainable since inflation has begun
to rise due to a 40% increase in federal government spending these past five
years. This will soon cause
political leaders to cut military spending, unless a huge tax increase is
implemented. Meanwhile, the generous
military budgets of today are wasted on Iraq and for buying expensive junk. The
US Navy seems unable to design and build newer types of ships while the US
Marine Corps continues to waste billions of dollars on the failed V-22
program. The US Air Force struggles to field newer aircraft while the US
Army has no plans for new equipment as funding is diverted to a research scam call the
"Future Combat System."

This is resulting in a decline in US economic
and military power is at a time when nations like China, South Korea, and India
advance rapidly. The occupation of Iraq worsens this problem as American
military equipment is overused, attention is diverted to issues like roadside
bombs, and training is focused on raiding homes and armed convoys. As a
result, the US military is on a downward spiral which will only become clear after a future military disaster where American combat
units must fight higher in the spectrum of conflict. Fighting
"assassins, anarchists, terrorists, and extremists" is just a sport; a
major war in the future will be different.